Such sensor modules are generally familiar. German patent document DE 10 2005 038 443 A1, for example, discusses a sensor system having a substrate and a housing, the housing essentially completely surrounding the substrate in a first substrate region; in a second substrate region, the housing being provided at least partially using an opening that is open; and in the region of the opening, the substrate region being provided extending from the housing. Because of the extending of the second substrate region from the housing, the influencing of the characteristics curve of a stress-sensitive sensor element is prevented, based on different thermal expansion of the housing and the substrate, since an active sensor area of the sensor element should be positioned in the second substrate area, and thus outside the housing, and to a great extent thermally decoupled from the housing.
Unpublished German patent application DE 20 2008 011 943.1 discusses a sensor system, in which a sensor element is situated on a carrier and one region of the sensor element being embedded in the molded housing; and the carrier being embedded in an edge region of a through hole of the molded housing; and, moreover, a sensitive area of a sensor system being situated in the vicinity of the through hole, and consequently also outside the molded housing. Thus, on the one hand, the sensitive region may be thermally decoupled from the molded housing and, on the other hand, the spatial separation between the upper side of the housing and the lower side of the housing may be implemented, so that the sensor system represents a barrier for a measuring medium, and consequently one is able to use it for installation in a sealed connection between spatial regions, such as in the interior space of an automobile outer housing.
A different thermal expansion between the housing and the substrate is conditioned particularly by the use of a molded housing made of plastic as the housing and of a leadframe made of metal as the substrate, whereby a comparatively cost-effective production of such sensor modules is achieved. What is disadvantageous in the thermal decoupling according to the related art is that the sensitive region of the sensor element is completely exposed, both because of the extending out of the second substrate region and because of the through hole in the molded housing respectively, and is consequently exposed in an unprotected manner to potential environmental influences, such as contamination, mechanical damage or spurious electromagnetic radiation.